Program Overview

Introduction to Columbia’s Urban Planning Program

The Master of Science in Urban Planning is a two-year accredited professional degree. Our program takes a comparative, global perspective to urban planning, centering social justice and critical practice. It connects the study of the urban built environment with grounded analysis of socioeconomic and political conditions to inform planning practice and praxis toward social, racial, and climate justice. We prepare students to confront and break down structures and practices of oppression rooted in class inequality, racism, and sexism. By studying the impact of global processes (such as immigration, climate change, and public health) on cities, neighborhoods, and communities—across the Global North and Global South—the program aims to foster new, creative planning and policy approaches that will improve processes and outcomes in cities around the world.

Program Details

• The program pays close attention to a range of methodological approaches bringing together urban analytics, grounded field research, and community engagement to address real-world planning issues.
• It builds on our record as one of the first planning programs in the United States to engage data science and visualization alongside spatial analysis to tackle today’s urban problems and inform planning solutions for the future.
• Our graduates work in critical and leading roles in government, private firms, nonprofit organizations, advocacy groups, multilateral institutions, and international NGOs.

Curriculum

• The Master of Science in Urban Planning program offers five distinctive clusters: Built Environment, Climate Adaptation, Community and Economic Development, International Planning and Development, and Urban Analytics.
• At the core of the program are a team-based studio course, which takes place in the first year, and a thesis or professional capstone, which is carried out throughout the second year.
• The Urban Planning Studio is a way of modeling what it means to incorporate intellectual questions into practical proposals.
• The studio revolves around a real client with a real-world issue. Students work as a group under the direction of faculty, producing critical and innovative analysis of socioeconomic, environmental, and political conditions as well as stakeholder engagement.

People

• Weiping Wu, Professor and Program Director
• Douglas Woodward, Associate Director, Professional Development and Practice
• Kian Goldman, Assistant Director

Urban Planning Events

• Various events and lectures are hosted throughout the year, featuring renowned speakers and experts in the field of urban planning.

Fall 2025 Courses

• A list of courses offered in the Fall 2025 semester, including:
  • PLAN4008-1: History and Theory of Planning
  • PLAN4022-1: Fundamentals of Urban Digital Design
  • PLAN4050-1: UP Elective Internship
  • PLAN4208-1: Planning Methods
  • PLAN4320-1: Urban Design For Planners
  • PLAN4577-1: Geographic Information Systems
  • PLAN6003-1: Genesis and Development of Zoning
  • PLAN6088-1: Introduction to International Planning
  • PLAN6121-1: Practicum: Residential Planning in Global Cities
  • PLAN6328-1: Site Planning & Support Systems
  • PLAN6434-1: Introduction to Transportation Planning
  • PLAN6612-1: Planning for Justice in a Low Carbon Future
  • PLAN6642-1: Metropolitan Planning
  • PLAN6646-1: Affordable Housing Development in NYC
  • PLAN6918-1: Thesis/Capstone I Workshop
  • PLAN6942-1: Community Development Finance Practicum
  • PLAN6946-1: Housing the Unhoused: A Practicum

Lectures in Planning Series (LiPS)

• A series of lectures featuring experts in the field of urban planning, including:
  • Tom Slater and Joe Schaffers
  • Anthony Vanky
  • Melissa Checker

Student Work

• Examples of student work, including:
  • Rio de Janeiro Data Transparency Dashboard
  • “Crisscrossing the Park” by Elaine Hsieh
  • “BirdyBird” by Ri Le and Suprima Bhele
  • Hong Kong as a Palimpsest
  • Rio de Janeiro Studio
  • “Emblems: Symbolizing City Data” by Mariya Chekmarova and H.K. Dunston

News

• Recent news and updates from the Urban Planning program, including:
  • Faculty Matthew Bauer delivers keynote lecture at the 2025 NYU Stern Luxury & Retail Industry Conference
  • Faculty James Piacentini M.Arch/MSUP ’20 and Faculty Oscar M. Caballero MSAAD ’20 showcase artwork in "fifteen group show" at Sommwhere Gallery in New York
  • Faculty Hiba Bou Akar presents “Sedimentary Urbanization: Displacement, Refugeeness, and the Afterlives of Dead Futures” at the University of Basel
  • Faculty Weiping Wu speaks in The Century of Cities Podcast, “Weiping Wu: How China’s Cities Shape the World’s Urban Future”

Other

• Information on dual degree programs, including:
  • M.S. in Urban Planning and Master of Architecture
  • M.S. in Urban Planning and M.S. in Historic Preservation
  • M.S. in Urban Planning and M.S. in Real Estate Development
  • M.S. in Urban Planning and M.S. Computational Design Practices
• Information on dual degrees with other schools at Columbia, including:
  • M.S. in Urban Planning and Business
  • M.S. in Urban Planning and International Affairs
  • M.S. in Urban Planning and Law
  • M.S. in Urban Planning and Social Work
  • M.S. in Urban Planning and Public Health

Urbanism

• Information on the M.S. Architecture and Urban Design program, a three-semester program that advances new paradigms of research, practice and pedagogy to meet the urgent challenges of rapid urbanization, the increasing threats of climate change and social inequality.
• Information on the Ph.D. in Urban Planning, which prepares students for careers in teaching, research and policy in the field of urban planning.